Poverty in North Korea and the failure of state food rationing has caused farmers to rely on human **** to fertilize soil, with some even stealing **** from other families.

Fertilizing crops with **** leads to the spread of parasites, like the ones found in the North Korean soldier who defected last month.

Citizens - North - Korea - Markets - State

Citizens of North Korea now rely on black markets, not the state, to provide goods.

The harrowing conditions of poverty in North Korea have again come to light in the dismal story of the 25 year-old defector who crossed the border into South Korea under a hale of gunfire from his own troops.

Authorities - Soldier - Care - Hospital - Surgeon

South Korean authorities took the soldier, named Oh, to receive care in a hospital where the surgeon saw something he had never seen before — a 10.6 inch parasite living in Oh's intestine.

While food availability and conditions are known to be rough in North Korea, the parasite hints at a ghastly practice used to feed ordinary citizens at risk of starvation while Kim Jong Un allocates most resources to nuclear and missile development.

Kim - North - Koreans - Excrement - Fertilizers

In 2014, Kim directed North Koreans to add human and livestock excrement to fertilizers to improve crop turnout, but as livestock was scarce, the burden fell on people to use their own...